The Vancouver Canucks are making a clear push to get Elias Pettersson back on track, and that effort now looks like a central part of how they want to move forward. The team is still open to calls, but the sense is that Ryan Johnson and the Canucks see Pettersson as a core player and want to do whatever they can to bring out the version of him that once drove their offense.
Pettersson’s recent numbers explain why this matters. He put up 102 points in 2022-23, then followed that with 89 points the next season.
Since those strong campaigns, though, he has totaled just 30 goals and 96 points across the last two seasons. There have been plenty of explanations for the drop, including injuries and a feud with J.T.
Miller, but the bottom line is that a player with Pettersson’s talent should not be producing at middle-six levels.
Johnson’s approach was laid out in comments relayed by Kevin Woodley at NHL.com: “What I’m stressing with (Pettersson) is I want to give him an environment that supports him, that allows him to be himself and not feel that he’s got to be anything other than himself…I want to help him just in creating a space where I know he wakes up excited to come into the arena every day.”
If Vancouver can help Pettersson rediscover his game, it changes the look of the club’s rebuild over the next few seasons.
In Montreal, Sam Montembeault still appears to be on the move, but the goalie market may not open up the way the Canadiens would like. The team is moving ahead with Jakob Dobes and Jacob Fowler as its tandem, which has pushed Montembeault out of the picture. This has been on the radar since June, and after a relatively quiet summer, the possibility of a trade could be getting some traction again.
The complication is Connor Hellebuyck. If that situation triggers other goalie movement, it could create the kind of ripple effect that helps Montreal. Marco D’Amico put it this way on The Starr & D’Amico Show: “…if Hellebuyck gets traded that may start a carousel of other trades…” Teams such as the Winnipeg Jets could become part of that chain reaction, especially if they are suddenly forced into the market.
If Winnipeg were to move Hellebuyck, the club would be left with Stuart Skinner as its starter and one of its depth goaltenders as the backup, which could make Montembeault a fit. Beyond that, though, the options are limited. Most teams already have their goaltending tandems set, and the market outside of a Hellebuyck deal is described as pretty cold.
Montembeault could still appeal to teams worried about injuries during the season, but he reportedly is not interested in going through another three-goalie setup. There is also the possibility that he ends up on waivers when training camp wraps up. Montreal would likely be fine keeping him around as a call-up option with the Laval Rocket, but that may not be a landing spot he welcomes.
In Ottawa, the Senators are getting closer to choosing a captain after Brady Tkachuk’s departure left them without one for the first time since 2021. The roster offers several natural candidates, with Thomas Chabot, Claude Giroux, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson all in the mix.
Bruce Garrioch reported that “[Steve Staios and] Travis Green are closing in on a decision on who will replace departed captain Brady Tkachuk and that the choice could be made in the near future.” Garrioch has made the case for Chabot, pointing to his loyalty after staying with the team through a difficult decade.
Chabot and Sanderson have both been long-running leaders in the room, while Stutzle recently addressed Tkachuk’s exit at the NHL’s European Media Tour. He said, “We’re focused on what we have ahead of us and the team we have right now. So, wish him all the best,”
However Ottawa goes, the Senators have no shortage of players who could wear the letter.
In Other News...
Canucks Fans Still Remember These Big Names That Never Fit In Vancouver
The Canucks have never lacked for recognizable names, but not every arrival in Vancouver left the kind of imprint fans hoped for. A look back at some of the more notable short stays around the franchise turns up a familiar pattern: players with solid NHL rsums elsewhere who simply never found their footing here, whether because the fit was off, the timing was wrong or the results never caught up to the reputation.
Mathieu Schneider, Jared McCann, Braden Holtby, Jimmy Carson, Geoff Sanderson and Mike Peca all fit into that bucket in different ways, remembered more for what they did before or after Vancouver than for what they managed in Canucks colors. For a market that tends to remember every high-profile move, those are the kinds of brief, underwhelming chapters that linger longest, especially when the expectations were bigger than the payoff. [Read more 🡒]
Filip Hronek Just Sent A Clear Message During Vancouvers Rebuild
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Hroneks role has grown beyond minutes on the back end, too, as hes increasingly been asked to help guide younger players through the adjustment period. With the club trying to turn a difficult stretch into something more stable next season, having a core player embrace that responsibility matters, especially when the outside noise suggests patience is wearing thin. [Read more 🡒]
Evander Kanes NHL Future Just Got Even Harder To Ignore
Evander Kane has never been a short list kind of player, and the latest reminder comes with the same mix of talent and baggage that has followed him from Atlanta and Winnipeg to Buffalo, San Jose, Edmonton and now Vancouver. Even with the turbulence that has marked his NHL path, he still brings production, which is why his name keeps resurfacing whenever teams start weighing upside against risk.
What keeps making his future harder to sort out is not the on-ice case, but the broader track record around him. Former teammate Kurtis Gabriel revisited Kanes 2020-21 season with the Sharks and painted a harsh picture of his presence in the room, adding another layer to a reputation that has already complicated his market as he gets older. For a player who can still help a lineup, the question is no longer whether the skill is there, but how many teams are willing to live with everything else that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]